Shoe

Abstract

A shoe comprising a sole comprising a female element; and an upper arrangement comprising a corresponding male element configured to be received in the female element upon insertion in an insertion direction. The male and female elements comprise complementary locking features including a first locking feature being provided on a peripheral surface of one of the male or female elements, and a second locking feature being provided on a peripheral surface of the other of the male or female elements. The first locking feature comprises a protrusion that protrudes in a direction transverse to the insertion direction, and the second locking feature comprises a locking recess. The locking protrusion is configured to engage with the locking recess as the male element is inserted into the female element, thereby locking the sole to the upper arrangement.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A shoe comprising:
 a sole comprising a female element;   an upper arrangement comprising:
 a shoe upper having a base, 
 a male element configured to be received in the female element upon insertion in an insertion direction, and 
 an insole comprising an element-supporting surface and suitable for inserting into the shoe upper, 
 wherein the male element comprises a body extending away from the element-supporting surface in the insertion direction; and 
 a support structure configured to be sandwiched between the sole and insole when the shoe is assembled; 
 wherein the base is configured to accommodate the male element to allow insertion of the male element into the female element so that the base of the shoe upper is sandwiched between the sole and the insole when the shoe is assembled; 
 wherein the male element and the female element comprise complementary locking features comprising:
 a first locking feature being provided on a peripheral surface of one of the male element or the female element and comprising a locking protrusion that protrudes in a direction transverse to the insertion direction, and 
 a second locking feature being provided on a peripheral surface of the other of the male element or the female element and comprising a locking recess, 
 
 wherein the locking protrusion is configured to engage with the locking recess as the male element is inserted into the female element, thereby locking the sole to the upper arrangement, 
 wherein the female element comprises an opening in the sole for receiving the male element, and 
 wherein the sole comprises a base surface that faces away from the upper arrangement when the shoe is assembled, and the opening is a hole extending through the sole to open onto the base surface. 
   
     
     
         2 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the body comprises a free end opposite the element-supporting surface and an outer peripheral surface that extends between the element-supporting surface and the free end. 
     
     
         3 . The shoe of  claim 2 , wherein the complementary locking feature on the male element is provided on the outer peripheral surface. 
     
     
         4 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the opening defines an inner peripheral surface. 
     
     
         5 . The shoe of  claim 4 , wherein the complementary locking feature on the female element is provided on the inner peripheral surface. 
     
     
         6 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the complementary locking feature on the female element is the first locking feature and the complementary locking feature on the male element is the second locking feature. 
     
     
         7 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the locking recess comprises a groove. 
     
     
         8 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the locking recess defines an opening for receiving the locking protrusion into the locking recess in an engagement direction, the engagement direction being transverse to the insertion direction. 
     
     
         9 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the locking protrusion protrudes from the peripheral surface to define a protrusion end offset from the peripheral surface, and the locking protrusion comprises a tapered end region extending between the protrusion end and the peripheral surface to meet the peripheral surface at an acute angle. 
     
     
         10 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the locking protrusion defines a first locking protrusion of a set of locking protrusions, wherein the set of locking protrusions are arranged to engage with the locking recess. 
     
     
         11 . The shoe of  claim 2 , wherein the male element and the female element are configured such that the free end of the male element is substantially flush with the base surface to form a tread surface when the shoe is assembled for use. 
     
     
         12 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the base comprises an aperture through which the male element extends when the insole is inserted into the shoe upper. 
     
     
         13 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the sole comprises a plurality of female elements and the upper arrangement comprises a corresponding male element for each female element. 
     
     
         14 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the male element is made from substantially the same material as the sole. 
     
     
         15 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the male element and/or the sole are made of an elastically deformable material. 
     
     
         16 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the locking protrusion of the first locking feature is formed integrally on the peripheral surface of the male element or the female element. 
     
     
         17 . A method of assembling the shoe of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 inserting the male element into the female element in an insertion direction; and   engaging the first locking feature with the second locking feature as the male element is inserted into the female element, thereby locking the sole to the upper arrangement.   
     
     
         18 . The shoe of  claim 1 , wherein the support structure comprises:
 a first support element configured to receive a shoelace;   a second support element configured to receive the shoelace; and   a bridge extending between the first support element and the second support element, the bridge comprising an aperture configured to align with the male element to allow the male element to pass through the aperture to sandwich the support structure between the sole and the insole when the shoe is assembled.   
     
     
         19 . The shoe of  claim 7 , wherein the groove is defined by opposing horizontal side surfaces. 
     
     
         20 . A shoe comprising:
 a sole comprising a female element;   an upper comprising a corresponding male element configured to be received in the female element upon insertion in an insertion direction; and   a support structure configured to be sandwiched between the sole and the upper, the support structure comprising:
 a first support element configured to receive a shoelace; 
 a second support element configured to receive the shoelace; and 
 a bridge extending between the first support element and the second support element, the bridge comprising an aperture configured to align with the male element to allow the male element to pass through the aperture to sandwich the support structure between the sole and the upper when the shoe is assembled; 
   wherein the male element and the female element comprise complementary locking features including:
 a first locking feature on a peripheral surface of one of the male element or the female element and comprising a locking protrusion that protrudes in a direction transverse to the insertion direction, and 
 a second locking feature on a peripheral surface of the other of the male element or the female element and comprising a locking recess, the locking protrusion configured to engage with the locking recess as the male element is inserted into the female element, thereby locking the sole to the upper.